After a break in play for over two months, the ASEAN Club Championship -- officially known as the 2025-26 Shopee Cup -- returns this week for the first of two match days in December.
By the time the month's action concludes on Dec. 17, the group stage would have crossed its halfway mark -- meaning the qualification picture for the semifinals will soon be taking shape.
Here, we look at the current state of play in both groups before the upcoming matches on Wednesday and Thursday.
GROUP A
Dec. 3
BG Tampines Rovers vs. BG Pathum United (7:30 p.m., Singapore)
Buriram United vs. Công An Hà Nội (7 p.m., Buriram)
DH Cebu vs. Selangor (7 p.m., Manila)
With all six teams in Group A having played two games each, it is Selangor who are the surprise leaders despite some early inconsistency on other fronts, namely in the Malaysia Super League and AFC Champions League Two, which saw them make an early-season managerial change.
The sacking of Katsuhito Kinoshita, who failed to save his job even with an impressive 4-2 win over BG Tampines Rovers in their last ASEAN Club Championship outing, means Frenchman Christophe Gamel will take charge of his first match on the regional stage when the Red Giants visit bottom side DH Cebu.
Surprisingly, reigning champions Buriram United currently sit second-from-bottom after back-to-back opening draws but can easily turn their title defence around given they sit just two points off the top.
Nonetheless, it does not get any easier for them coming up against Công An Hà Nội, who they narrowly defeated on penalties in last season's thrilling final.
Wednesday's third game sees Singapore Premier League outfit Tampines host the group's other Thai League 1 representatives in BG Pathum United.
Interestingly, both teams have already faced off this term in the ACL Two -- where Tampines pulled off a 2-1 upset which played a huge part in them advancing to the knockout round on the continental front.
GROUP B
Dec. 4
Bangkok United vs. Lion City Sailors (7 p.m., Pathum Thani)
PKR Svay Rieng vs. Johor Darul Ta'zim (7 p.m., Phnom Penh)
Shan United vs. Thép Xanh Nam Định (6 p.m., Yangon)
Group B paints a slightly inaccurate picture at the moment given only Johor Darul Ta'zim and PKR Svay Rieng have played two games -- with the other four teams set to play their game in hand on Dec. 17.
It means that, with a maximum six points, JDT lead the way with Svay Rieng and Thép Xanh Nam Định on three points, while Lion City Sailors, Shan United and Bangkok United are all without a point having lost their only outings thus far.
JDT can move significantly closer to the knockout round with victory over Svay Rieng although there is a cloud of uncertainty over their previous wins given they fielded certain players as locals -- who have since been implicated in the larger falsified documents saga the Football Association of Malaysia is currently embroiled in -- as the ASEAN Club Championship has a foreign player limit.
Nonetheless, further clarification will only come once a final decision is made with FAM having taken their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Familiar foes will also meet in Group B when Bangkok United host the Sailors. Both teams already met twice in the ACL Two this season and curiously, including two previous clashes, the Sailors have lost all four ties by a single-goal margin.
Finally, Shan United will be looking for their first win in the tournament at home to Nam Định -- having lost all five of their group-stage games last season, as well as being beaten by Svay Rieng earlier this term.